


I Believe You

by ShadowWrites



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men (Ultimateverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Mutant Registration Act, You Decide, because it can take place whenever, but it doesn't have to be, it can be underage, rogue could be 16 she could be 23, this is mostly fluff, with a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 20:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11470899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowWrites/pseuds/ShadowWrites
Summary: The Mutant Registration act is passed, meaning Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters has to be evacuated. Someone gets left behind...





	I Believe You

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, first fic I've ever posted to this site! Short and sweet. I used the tag "underage", but that's just because in the original X-Men timeline Rogue is a teenager. In this work it isn't exactly specified what age she is, it could take place when she's 16 or it can take place when she's 25, it's all up for interpretation. 
> 
> As I've said, this is my first fic I'm posting to this site, so please be courteous! All comments and reviews welcome, they give me life!
> 
> Enjoy!

Frost swirled weaved its way through his hair and around his head as Logan continued his long trek through the snow, grunting with the effort it took to complete every other step. Thinking his foot had found purchase in the two-foot-high pile of snowy whiteness, he found himself to be utterly mistaken as the heel of his boot slipped on a patch of hidden ice. His entire balance became disrupted, and soon he was tumbling to the ground, accidentally sending the girl who had been clinging to his shoulders flying off his back as well. The young woman let out a yelp of surprise as she landed fast first in the freezing expanse, and in an instant Logan was back on his feet and running to her side. 

“Marie,” he said, turning the girl gently onto her back, brushing flakes of gentle white from her hair. “Marie, hey… hey there,” he said with a smile as her eyes fluttered open again. “Hey, kid, c’mon. We’re almost there.” 

“Logan…” She croaked, her throat parched and most likely stripped dry from the subzero temperatures. The wind had easily pierced through her thick parka by now, and by the way she was shivering the coat was just as effective being on her body as if it were on the ground. “Logan, I can’t, I can’t,” she whimpered. The man shushed her gently, reaching up to wipe away her tears before they fell down her cheeks and became frozen to her skin. 

“It’s just ahead, we’re nearly there, alright?” He said. “We’ve faced worse. Much worse, yeah?” He asked, waiting to see her nod. “There’s a good girl. Come on, up you go again,” He said, reaching under her arms and standing her upright. Logan watched as the girl swayed on her own two feet, despite the fact his body was still supporting hers. “Gloves on?” 

“N-Nice and t-t-tight,” Marie stuttered. Logan nodded, pressing his lips briefly to her forehead before helping her back up onto his back. He himself could feel the chill biting viciously at his exposed cheeks and fingers, but that was not his first concern. Logan knew his body would heal. While they both knew Marie could draw on his energy to heal herself if necessary, it wasn’t a risk they could take. The amount of time he would need to recover was far longer than the amount of time she could survive out here in this cold. So, he pressed on. 

“Just another mile or two,” he called back to her over the sound of the whipping wind. Marie nestled herself between Logan’s shoulders, resting her head on the taut leather of his jacket. 

“W-w-why are they doing this t-t-t-to us-s-s?” She asked in that hoarse voice of hers. Logan had to physically suppress the urge to growl out his response. 

“They don’t trust us, kid. That’s… That’s just how these things go.” 

“B-but why don’t t-they j-just kill us-s-s?” She whispered. 

“I think that’s the goal,” The man replied. When there was no response, he figured that the young woman was either too tired or too disheartened to continue her line of questioning. Or both. 

It was almost dark by the time the two of them arrived at the lodge. Taking care to keep Marie from slipping off his back, Logan shifted his weight to support her with one arm. He raised the other to knock a specific rhythm out against the heavy oak door, but before he even finished it was wrenched open. A gust of light and warmth rushed out to greet him, and Logan nearly fell to his knees in relief. Had he not been so concerned for the well-being of woman on his back, he might have done just that. 

“Erik, take Marie,” said an accented voice, as British and well educated as it ever was. “Careful, gently now, make sure not to touch her,” he said. Logan watched as the edges of his vision became tinged with black, the exhaustion he had been fighting off for the better part of forty-eight hours finally coming back to bite him. He quickly became disoriented as he felt the weight being literally lifted from his back, and felt his claws break through his frostbitten skin on instinct. “Logan, calm down, it’s alright. You’re safe, both of you. Erik, take Marie to the last guestroom, and help me…” 

But Logan didn’t hear anything else. Marie was safe, that was all he needed to know, as was evident by the fact that ten seconds later he crashed to the floor, and the room went black. 

Waking up wasn’t nearly as easy as falling asleep. He groaned with the effort of peeling his eyes open, finding himself facing the white pained ceiling. It was still dark out when he woke, though the snow was coming down so hard it lit up the outside world like the early morning. He sighed softly, thinking over the past three days. 

The passing of the Mutant Registration Act had come as quite a shock, especially seeing as how congress wasn’t supposed to even vote on the bill for another two years at least. As a result, no one was ready. Not the school, not the X-Men, not even the Brotherhood. In the heat of the moment, the desperate need to survive overwhelmed and past grudges or petty disagreements. Disowned siblings became family once more, friendships were rekindled, and differences were settled within the course of two hours as evacuation became the only focus of everyone’s shared attention. 

The young ones had been first. Hank had flown all of the children out of the school in the jet, or at least as many as he could take. The X-Men were left behind to battle the United States ground forces, who quickly caught on to the Xavier School’s little escape regime, while the other faculty members sneaked out the remaining students to a safe location way up in northern Canada. Once everyone was evacuated, Charles and Erik led the way to the safe house for the others, taking a role call once they arrived. 

“Wait a minute,” Bobby had said, “where’s Rogue?” 

Logan closed his eyes again, fighting the onslaught of memories. Marie had stayed behind as a sort of insurance, refusing to leave until she was sure all of her friends had gotten away. It worked-until she herself was left behind. Logan had to travel by foot to go and find her, seeing as traveling by jet or any other method would be easily detected. For two days he had walked through the snow, only to find the girl herself crumpled into a ball under a tree along the pathway they had taken, already half-frozen. 

“I-I was t-t-trying to follow-” 

“You were trying to die! …Get on my back, I’ll carry you.” 

“B-but-“ 

“No buts.” 

It was unsettling to think what would have happened to the girl had Logan not happened to stumble upon her. Had she been out there alone any longer… He shuddered, and beside him he felt something move. 

“Hey,” he heard the voice of the woman herself croak, then fall into a coughing fit. 

“Easy, easy…” Logan said, rubbing her back through the parka that was still bundled tightly around Marie’s shoulders. “What were you thinking, kid? Don’t answer, just… Of all the stupid things…” 

The two of them fell into silence. Logan never did stop rubbing Marie’s back, and she never said anything in opposition to it. Instead, she curled up further into his side, making sure that her gloves were still securely over her fingers before she hesitantly wrapped an arm around the man’s torso. After what felt like ages, just when Logan believed the girl might have fallen back asleep, she spoke again. 

“Nothing’s ever going to be the same.” 

“Yeah…” Logan agreed. 

“We’ll always be running.” 

“Probably.” 

“What will they do to us, when they catch us?” 

“Hey, hey, that’s enough-“ 

“What will they do to me?” 

“It won’t come to that, it won’t… I won’t let it come to that,” Logan said. “I didn’t let them hurt you then, did I?” 

“No, but-“ 

“So I’m sure as hell not gonna let them hurt you now, okay?” 

“You could die.”

“It’s kind of a habit,” he grumbled. He smirked when he felt her shoulders shake with faint laughter. “Besides, what you really have to look out for is metal brain.”   
“Do you think he’s actually changed?” 

“Not a bit.” 

Silence again. Then, Logan spoke once more. 

“But Charles-the professor… he does. And that’s what matters because those two… They’re our best hope. They’re the world’s best hope.” 

Marie nodded silently beside him, snuggling ever so slightly closer to his side. 

“I believe you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to drop by my tumblr! http://sherlockreinhold.tumblr.com/


End file.
